You Paid for the Car. Why Are There Ads on Its Screen?

Most of the argument about big car screens has been about the buttons they replaced. I’m more interested in what happens once that screen stays permanently online, because a car that takes over-the-air updates gives the carmaker’s software team a display it can change whenever it likes. GM, for one, is dropping Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from its future EVs and keeping the whole screen for its own software. Some carmakers have started using that screen to sell things. If you’ve just spent €50,000 on an EV, I doubt that’s what you expected.

This summer, BMW showed what it looks like. A Spider-Man animation, about 20 seconds long with music and ambient lighting, appeared at start-up in cars built from July 2020 onwards. BMW ran the campaign globally until 10 August 2026 as a tie-in with the new Spider-Man film, in which the electric iX3 has a starring role.

What BMW Showed and Why It Avoids the Word Advert

The car it promoted is the same iX3 that became one of the first two models to pass Euro NCAP’s new 2026 tests. Those tests now penalise screen designs that distract the driver, which makes the timing a little awkward.

BMW rejected the advertising label. The company said the animation was meant as a bit of fun and that it has no plans to bring advertising into its cars. Back in December 2023, Stephan Durach, the senior vice president who runs BMW’s connected car development, described the car’s screen as “a private space”.

I’d take BMW at its word on intent, but intent isn’t how this gets judged. In Germany, courts typically classify promotions like this as advertising. A film tie-in that appears uninvited on the screen of a car you’ve paid for looks like an advert to me, whatever the app is called. It also isn’t clear whether owners could switch the notification off, and BMW hasn’t published instructions for doing so.

What Happened When Others Tried It

China ran this experiment earlier and more aggressively. As early as 2021, some carmakers there started pushing promotions onto their screens to make money from them. Nio removed adverts from its screens in October 2021 after owners complained. FAW-Volkswagen, the joint venture that builds Volkswagens for the Chinese market, used pop-ups to sell add-on services on the electric ID.6. In September 2022, it switched off the notifications and apologised, because drivers saw them while driving. China’s pop-up ad rules, which took effect the following day, now require such ads to be labelled as adverts and closed with one click.

The best-known case came in May 2025. Deepal, the electric brand of Chinese carmaker Changan, showed existing owners a start-up message offering a voucher worth about €1,200 towards its S09 SUV. Drivers had to tap it away or shift into Drive. After complaints, Deepal apologised on its official Weibo account and promised to stop sending offers through the car’s screen. Chief executive Deng Chenghao added that the push had been his mistake, and the company said the message only appeared in Park mode and didn’t cover the reversing camera. The brand now sells EVs in Europe, although I’ve found no reports of European cars receiving similar pop-ups.

The US shows what happens when carmakers don’t back down as quickly. Stellantis, the group behind Peugeot, Citroën, Opel and Fiat, has shown full-screen offers for extended warranties and new-car discounts to owners of its Jeep, Ram and Dodge models in the US. It blamed a software glitch for how often one Jeep warranty ad reappeared, and owners can only opt out by phoning customer care. Tesla prompts owners to subscribe when a free trial of its Full Self-Driving software ends, and in October 2025 it pushed a themed Tron update made with Disney that critics saw as an advert for the film.

The Ad Network Is Already Built Into Cars Sold in Europe

Europe’s version is much quieter, but there’s more going on than the lack of headlines suggests. 4screen, a German start-up, sells a platform that places location-based offers on the car’s own screen and in its navigation. The company says it works with 16 brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Zeekr and Stellantis. Those are 4screen’s own figures, and I couldn’t confirm which brands have switched it on in Europe. Stellantis did confirm in a July 2025 press release that it’s bringing 4screen’s location-based services to its cars in North America and Europe.

Why EV drivers are such an attractive audience becomes obvious once you think about how we charge. A petrol stop takes a few minutes with the driver standing at the pump. A fast charge usually takes 20 to 30 minutes, and the driver often spends it sitting in front of the screen. If you’re wondering why anyone would buy ad space in a car, 4screen’s chief executive Fabian Beste explained it with a simple example. A low battery prompts a route to a charger next to a coffee shop that has paid to be there. He also said pop-up notifications are optional. That’s the part I’d like to see written into every owner’s manual.

The Case for Letting Carmakers Do It

There’s a fair argument on the other side. A charger suggestion that comes with a discount on coffee can be useful, and it’s easier to tap on the car’s screen than to juggle three apps on a phone. Software income also matters to carmakers. Boston Consulting Group expects consumer software revenue across the car industry to grow from about €80 billion ($87 billion) in 2023 to about €230 billion ($248 billion) by 2030. In theory, some of that could make cars cheaper.

My problem is consent. Nobody who signed a finance agreement for an EV agreed to become an ad audience, and an over-the-air update can change the deal after the car is delivered. If a brand wants to offer a cheaper version with adverts, I’d have no objection, as long as the buyer chooses it at the dealership.

There’s a practical problem too. A charger that paid for its place on the map isn’t necessarily the cheapest or the closest one. If a promoted charger costs more per kWh than an unpromoted one nearby, or sits a few kilometres further away, the screen has no reason to tell you.

What Could Stop It in Europe

Europe has more safeguards than the US, although none of them was written with adverts in mind. Euro NCAP, the independent crash-test programme, now deducts points when basic functions are buried in touchscreen menus, as I explained in my piece on the 2026 protocol. Then there’s GDPR, which limits how carmakers can use personal driving data to target offers.

None of these rules bans an advert on a parked car’s screen, however. Distraction rules are written for a moving car, and most of these campaigns, BMW’s included, appear at start-up while the car is standing still. That gap is why I don’t expect adverts on the motorway, but I do expect more of them in car parks and at chargers.

What I’d Check Before Buying an EV Now

Carmakers have been surprisingly open when asked directly. In December 2025, The Autopian asked every major brand whether it plans pop-up ads, and the answers split into fairly clear groups.

Sources: The Autopian carmaker survey, December 2025; BMW statement to electrive, August 2026; Stellantis statements to US media.

Before signing, check with the dealer whether the brand sends marketing notifications to the screen and where they’re switched off. I’d want the answer in writing. On delivery day, make sure to go through the privacy and notification settings in both the car and the app, since BMW enrolled owners in its campaign by default. I’d also check whether the car supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Phone mirroring keeps at least part of the screen out of the carmaker’s hands. Finally, I’d ask which features turn into paid subscriptions after a trial, because a trial-expiry prompt like Tesla’s is another way the screen gets used to sell.

For now, adverts in European EVs arrive dressed as a bit of fun or a helpful suggestion, and almost always while the car is parked. The thing I’ll be watching is whether a carmaker offers a cheaper trim that comes with adverts, because that would be the first honest version of this deal. Until then, I’d spend a few minutes in the notification settings on delivery day, just in case.

Featured Image: BMW Group